How to get the most from your WWOOF exchange

WWOOF International has recently had the privilege of reading Maggie
Melin’s thesis on Active Learning as a Tool for Behaviour Change,
focusing on WWOOF as a Case study for her research.

Maggie is originally from Michigan in the United States and completed
her masters thesis at Lund University in Sweden. She has an educational
background in statistics, urban planning, and environmental
studies/sustainability science with a primary interest in environmental
psychology.

After spending a summer WWOOFing in the mountains of Italy Maggie
found the concept of living with other families and suddenly adapting to
their lifestyle fascinating and wondered how it affected other people.
This inspired her to investigate WWOOF for her thesis, with a focus on
the psychology of the volunteers and if and how they learn about
different environmental ideas during their experience.

Maggie’s survey was completed by 1381 WWOOF members from around the
world. 47 of those respondents were then interviewed personally.

The great thing Maggie’s research shows is that 90% of WWOOFers
report having a positive experience – so we are getting something right!
Of the rest 5% were neutral and only 3% negative. Hopefully the
information gleaned from this research will help us all to improve the
WWOOF experience and ensure that our WWOOFers take something home with
them.

Maggie’s research indicates that the top three motivations for people
to volunteer with WWOOF is firstly to live with the locals (at 73%),
secondly to learn about organic farming (69%) and coming in third at 63%
was the opportunity to travel around the country. (Melin. M. 2012. p21)

From this we can see that the majority of WWOOFers want the
opportunity to live and learn local customs, traditions and farming
methods. Hosts if you can show that you are actively including these
activities in the WWOOFers experience then you will likely have a better
chance of encouraging WWOOFers to your property. Try to make the WWOOF
experience about play as well as work. Get your WWOOFers out and about
of an afternoon, to a local fair, meeting the neighbours, on a walk, to
community events, weddings, school activities. Perhaps you could spend
an afternoon teaching your WWOOFer a local dish, or engaging them in a
traditional festivity. WWOOFers want to experience your life as you
live it, not just the weeding! Of course this daily living does include
hard work, just remember that their needs to be a little fun, laughter
and local interaction going on also.

At least 82% of respondents reported adding at least one sustainable
resource or lifestyle practise to their daily lives after
WWOOFing (p22). However if you want your WWOOFers to go away with
attitudes and skills that they can use in their day to day living it is
important to actively engage them in activities and discussions. The
survey indicates that “high levels of behaviour change often correlate
with high levels of exploration and explanation” (p28). It is the
active, hands-on activities, discussions around the dinner table and
explanations out in the field that provide lasting impressions with
WWOOFers. Get your WWOOFers thinking about the activities by asking
them questions, providing them with responsibilities and allowing them
opportunities to share their knowledge and ideas. In this way they can
integrate their knowledge into the larger environmental understanding,
and hopefully change behaviours along the way.

Interestingly while many respondents noted that they already
practised many of the behaviours listed in the survey the majority of
WWOOFers still reported leaving the experience and making at least one
change to their lifestyle behaviours (p22). So even WWOOFers that have a
lot of experience in the field can learn new things, especially as they
experience new environments and traditional farming methods (WWOOFers
can teach hosts too). The survey also indicates that the WWOOF
experience reinforces and strengthens some pro-environmental behaviours,
even for those volunteers who go into the experience with a great deal
of environmental awareness and experience (p27).

Hosts should be prepared to answer questions from the WWOOFer,
discuss your knowledge and values and involve them in as many activities
as you can. If possible it is great if you have a few organic living
books available for WWOOFers to read, or pro-environmental DVDs for
viewing. Personally I now own cook books, soap-making, gardening and
chook raising books that were introduced to me by WWOOF hosts. In this
way Hosts can pass on their knowledge and spread the good news about
organic living. I would also encourage all WWOOFers to take with them a
WWOOF notebook, not just as a diary of events, but to write down all
the information, recipes, books, websites etc that you gather along the
way.

A major focus for change in the WWOOFers lifestyle was in their
relationship with food. WWOOFing allows many the opportunity to
experience the entire seed to table food cycle. WWOOFers report
switching to a more organic and/or locally grown diet as they became
aware of all the issues surrounding food, such as animal treatment,
health benefits of organic food, supporting local farmers, and all the
work that goes into food production. The WWOOF experience brings
knowledge and awareness to the WWOOFer and enables them to make more
educated food choices in their future. WWOOFing also reinforces the
individuals current sustainable lifestyle practises as they engage in
farming practise and can see, feel and taste why it is better to eat
local, organic products (p23-24).

This practical experience also enables WWOOFers to draw on more
practical experience when engaging in discussion on environmental
issues. One WWOOFer explained, “As far as debating goes I have more personal experiences to draw
from which goes further than ‘I read this here’, or ‘saw this on the
news there.’ I can say ‘I saw with my own eyes’, or ‘I personally worked
on this.’ “(p26)

Maggie’s
thesis goes on to explain that WWOOFers who are able to spend time with
their hosts and engage in discussion reported a more positive WWOOF
experience and a higher degree of behaviour change from their WWOOF
experience. Those WWOOFers who had to work and eat on their own, had
limited discussion time with the host, and who felt like they were just
invited to stay for their labour reported no behaviour changes. Engage
your WWOOFers in discussion around the dinner table, allow them the
opportunity to experience a variety of jobs on the farm, make time for
each other so respect and trust can develop and you will get the best
out of your WWOOFer. In addition hosts may leave a lasting impression
on WWOOFers facilitating positive behavioural changes and life long
friendships into the bargain (p34-37).

In conclusion Maggie (p88-89) lists some suggestions for WWOOFers,
Hosts and Organisations that could lead to more positive WWOOF
experiences and great pro-environmental change in WWOOFers when they
return home.

For Hosts this includes suggestions as;
* asking WWOOFers what they want to gain from their experience.
* letting them know if you have areas of knowledge/interest that you are keen to teach.
* providing WWOOFers with a variety of tasks to avoid a monotony.
* discuss why farming tasks are important, share your knowledge,
explain reasons for farming organically, share personal stories about
your reasons for having a farm.
* spend time with your WWOOFers.
* share books, DVDs and other information sources.
*Encourage longer stays.
*Show WWOOFers how they can transfer some techniques and practices back to their homes.
*Ask WWOOFers to share their ideas, give them responsibilities to
encourage critical thinking and problem solving. Be open to learning
from your WWOOFer.
*Provide WWOOFers with feedback and appreciation for their work, give them tips for improving.
*ENGAGE with your WWOOFers.

For WWOOFers to enhance their experience Maggie suggests;
*searching for hosts that can provide you with an experience of interest.
*discuss all aspects of your stay before arrival to ensure a good match.
* understand your motivation and goals for WWOOFing and take a little
time to understand what organic farming is about before WWOOFing.
*Be willing to try new things and withhold judgements in the beginning.
*Share your WWOOF goals with your host, discuss thoughts and knowledge and be open to learning.
*Ask your host questions about their background, why they farm organically, any other areas of interest.
*WWOOF at more then one farm.
*Take time to reflect on your experience and what you learned, keep a journal, talk to others about your experience.
*Try to integrate atleast on activity or behaviour learned into your life at home.
*ENGAGE with your host.

Finally to the WWOOF Organisations, what can they do to improve the WWOOF experience for all members? Maggie’s studies conclude that;

*WWOOF organisations need to encourage members to share their WWOOF
experience and knowledge with others, thus allowing for reflection and
the spreading of the WWOOF word. This may be done through WWOOFers
speaking at schools, universities, community groups etc. WWOOF hosts
could holding ‘hosting’ workshops to share ideas and knowledge on both
good hosting practise and practical farming knowledge. WWOOF members may
also encouraged to write articles and blogs on their WWOOF experience
to be shared via newsletters and websites.

*WWOOF members may also be encouraged to more reflection on their
experience through a questionnaire for completion at the end of their
WWOOFing experience. This would also enable organisations to gain a
greater insight into where improvements and changes can be made.

*Many members also concluded that a reference system for comments on
members is vital to maintaining the integrity of the WWOOF system.
WWOOF organisations around the world are working hard at creating and
maintaining a reference system that keeps the majority happy. It can be
tricky to get it right, but the reference system plays an important role
in improving the WWOOF experience for all members.

Studies into the WWOOF experience, such as those conducted by Maggie,
are a vital part of WWOOF. They enable us all to reflect on what we
are doing, where we can improve and how we can get the most out of our
time as a WWOOF member.

WWOOF in its scope is truly multi-national and multi-cultural. For
many members it is a life-changing experience where we can openly
discuss and practise new philosophies and lifestyle behaviours, trying
on different cultures for a while and piecing together all the little
experiences to make up an entire suit that fits us as an individual.

WWOOF is an important player in the planets bid for better
environmental practices. WWOOF brings people closer to the land,
allowing them to explore behaviours and activities that are planet
friendly and develop their consciousness of the natural world around
them. Anything WWOOF organisations and its members can do to encourage
and improve this relationship can only be a good thing, right?

Bookmark The Green Toilet & spread the word!

About Maggie Melin

Maggie has most recently completed graduate degrees in both sustainability science and urban planning and is currently living in Berlin, Germany exploring her passion in environmental psychology. This blog is intended to provide the general online community and businesses with advice on improving their bathrooms (and other areas of their lives) in little ways in hopes of inspiring people to live more sustainably.